660 research outputs found
Cluster Formation in Protostellar Outflow-Driven Turbulence
Most, perhaps all, stars go through a phase of vigorous outflow during
formation. We examine, through 3D MHD simulation, the effects of protostellar
outflows on cluster formation. We find that the initial turbulence in the
cluster-forming region is quickly replaced by motions generated by outflows.
The protostellar outflow-driven turbulence (``protostellar turbulence'' for
short) can keep the region close to a virial equilibrium long after the initial
turbulence has decayed away. We argue that there exist two types of turbulence
in star-forming clouds: a primordial (or ``interstellar'') turbulence and a
protostellar turbulence, with the former transformed into the latter mostly in
embedded clusters such as NGC 1333. Since the majority of stars are thought to
form in clusters, an implication is that the stellar initial mass function is
determined to a large extent by the stars themselves, through outflows which
individually limit the mass accretion onto forming stars and collectively shape
the environments (density structure and velocity field) in which most cluster
members form. We speculate that massive cluster-forming clumps supported by
protostellar turbulence gradually evolve towards a highly centrally condensed
``pivotal'' state, culminating in rapid formation of massive stars in the
densest part through accretion.Comment: 11 pages (aastex format), 2 figures submitted to ApJ
The Carbon content in the Galactic CygnusX/DR21 star forming region
Observations of Carbon bearing species are among the most important
diagnostic probes of ongoing star formation. CO is a surrogate for H and is
found in the vicinity of star formation sites. There, [CI] emission is thought
to outline the dense molecular cores and extend into the lower density regions,
where the impinging interstellar UV radiation field plays a critical role for
the dissociation and ionization processes. Emission of ionized carbon ([CII])
is found to be even more extended than [CI] and is linking up with the ionized
medium. These different tracers emphasize the importance of multi-wavelength
studies to draw a coherent picture of the processes driving and driven by high
mass star formation. Until now, large scale surveys were only done with low
resolution, such as the COBE full sky survey, or were biased to a few selected
bright sources (e.g. Yamamoto et al. 2001, Schneider et al. 2003). A broader
basis of unbiased, high-resolution observations of [CI], CO, and [CII] may play
a key role to probe the material processed by UV radiation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure, to appear in "Proceedings of the 4th
Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium", ed. S. Pfalzner, C. Kramer, C. Straubmeier,
and A. Heithausen (Springer Verlag
First detection of CF+ towards a high-mass protostar
We report the first detection of the J = 1 - 0 (102.6 GHz) rotational lines
of CF+ (fluoromethylidynium ion) towards CygX-N63, a young and massive
protostar of the Cygnus X region. This detection occurred as part of an
unbiased spectral survey of this object in the 0.8-3 mm range, performed with
the IRAM 30m telescope. The data were analyzed using a local thermodynamical
equilibrium model (LTE model) and a population diagram in order to derive the
column density. The line velocity (-4 km s-1) and line width (1.6 km s-1)
indicate an origin from the collapsing envelope of the protostar.
We obtain a CF+ column density of 4.10e11 cm-2. The CF+ ion is thought to be
a good tracer for C+ and assuming a ratio of 10e-6 for CF+/C+, we derive a
total number of C+ of 1.2x10e53 within the beam. There is no evidence of carbon
ionization caused by an exterior source of UV photons suggesting that the
protostar itself is the source of ionization. Ionization from the protostellar
photosphere is not efficient enough. In contrast, X-ray ionization from the
accretion shock(s) and UV ionization from outflow shocks could provide a large
enough ionizing power to explain our CF+ detection.
Surprisingly, CF+ has been detected towards a cold, massive protostar with no
sign of an external photon dissociation region (PDR), which means that the only
possibility is the existence of a significant inner source of C+. This is an
important result that opens interesting perspectives to study the early
development of ionized regions and to approach the issue of the evolution of
the inner regions of collapsing envelopes of massive protostars. The existence
of high energy radiations early in the evolution of massive protostars also has
important implications for chemical evolution of dense collapsing gas and could
trigger peculiar chemistry and early formation of a hot core.Comment: 6 page
Infall models of Class 0 protostars
We have carried out radiative transfer calculations of infalling, dusty
envelopes surrounding embedded protostars to understand the observed properties
of the recently identified ``Class 0'' sources. To match the far-infrared peaks
in the spectral energy distributions of objects such as the prototype Class 0
source VLA 1623, pure collapse models require mass infall rates
\sim10^{-4}\msunyr. The radial intensity distributions predicted by
such infall models are inconsistent with observations of VLA 1623 at sub-mm
wavelengths, in agreement with the results of Andre et al. (1993) who found a
density profile of rather than the expected gradient. To resolve this conflict, while still invoking
infall to produce the outflow source at the center of VLA 1623, we suggest that
the observed sub-mm intensity distribution is the sum of two components: an
inner infall zone, plus an outer, more nearly constant-density region. This
explanation of the observations requires that roughly half the total mass
observed within 2000 AU radius of the source lies in a region external to the
infall zone. The column densities for this external region are comparable to
those found in the larger Oph A cloud within which VLA 1623 is embedded. The
extreme environments of Class 0 sources lead us to suggest an alternative or
additional interpretation of these objects: rather than simply concluding with
Andre et al. that Class 0 objects only represent the earliest phases of
protostellar collapse, and ultimately evolve into older ``Class I'' protostars,
we suggest that many Class 0 sources could be the protostars of very dense
regions. (Shortened)Comment: 22 pages, including 3 PostScript figures, accepted for publication in
The Astrophysical Journa
High Accretion Rate during Class 0 Phase due to External Trigger
Recent observations indicate that some class 0 sources have orders of
magnitude higher accretion rates than those of class I. We investigated the
conditions for the high accretion rates of some class 0 sources by numerical
calculations, modelling an external trigger. For no external trigger, we find
that the maximum value of the accretion rate is determined by the ratio
of the gravitational energy to the thermal one within a flat inner
region of the cloud core. The accretion rate reaches \sim 10^{-4} M_{\sun}
yr^{-1} if the cloud core has . For an external trigger we find
that the maximum value of the accretion rate is proportional to the momentum
given to the cloud core. The accretion rate reaches > 10^{-4} M_{\sun}
yr^{-1} with a momentum of \sim 0.1 M_{\sun} km s^{-1} when the initial
central density of the cloud core is . A comparison
between recent observational results for prestellar cores and our no triggered
collapse model indicates that the flat inner regions of typical prestellar
cores are not large enough to cause accretion rates of \sim 10^{-4} M_{\sun}
yr^{-1}. Our results show that the triggered collapse of the cloud core is
more preferable for the origin of the high accretion rates of class 0 sources
than no triggered collapse.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Infall, Outflow, Rotation, and Turbulent Motions of Dense Gas within NGC 1333 IRAS 4
Millimeter wavelength observations are presented of NGC 1333 IRAS 4, a group
of highly-embedded young stellar objects in Perseus, that reveal motions of
infall, outflow, rotation, and turbulence in the dense gas around its two
brightest continuum objects, 4A and 4B. These data have finest angular
resolution of approximately 2" (0.0034 pc) and finest velocity resolution of
0.13 km/s. Infall motions are seen from inverse P-Cygni profiles observed in
H2CO 3_12-2_11 toward both objects, but also in CS 3-2 and N2H+ 1-0 toward 4A,
providing the least ambiguous evidence for such motions toward low-mass
protostellar objects. Outflow motions are probed by bright line wings of H2CO
3_12-2_11 and CS 3-2 observed at positions offset from 4A and 4B, likely
tracing dense cavity walls. Rotational motions of dense gas are traced by a
systematic variation of the N2H+ line velocities, and such variations are found
around 4A but not around 4B. Turbulent motions appear reduced with scale, given
N2H+ line widths around both 4A and 4B that are narrower by factors of 2 or 3
than those seen from single-dish observations. Minimum observed line widths of
approximately 0.2 km/s provide a new low, upper bound to the velocity
dispersion of the parent core to IRAS 4, and demonstrate that turbulence within
regions of clustered star formation can be reduced significantly. A third
continuum object in the region, 4B', shows no detectable line emission in any
of the observed molecular species.Comment: LateX, 51 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap
Search for starless clumps in the ATLASGAL survey
In this study, we present an unbiased sample of the earliest stages of
massive star formation across 20 square-degree of the sky. Within the region
10deg < l < 20deg and |b| < 1deg, we search the ATLASGAL survey at 870 micron
for dense gas condensations. These clumps are carefully examined for
indications of ongoing star formation using YSOs from the GLIMPSE source
catalog as well as sources in the 24 micron MIPSGAL images, to search for
starless clumps. We calculate the column densities as well as the kinematic
distances and masses for sources where the v_lsr is known from spectroscopic
observations. Within the given region, we identify 210 starless clumps with
peak column densities > 1 x 10e23 cm^(-2). In particular, we identify potential
starless clumps on the other side of the Galaxy. The sizes of the clumps range
between 0.1 pc and 3 pc with masses between a few tens of solar masses up to
several ten thousands of solar masses. Most of them may form massive stars, but
in the 20 square-degree we only find 14 regions massive enough to form stars
more massive than 20 solar masses and 3 regions with the potential to form
stars more massive than 40 40 solar masses. The slope of the high-mass tail of
the clump mass function for clumps on the near side of the Galaxy is 2.2 and,
therefore, Salpeter-like. We estimate the lifetime of the most massive starless
clumps to be 60000 yr. The sample offers a uniform selection of starless
clumps. In the large area surveyed, we only find a few potential precursors of
stars in the excess of 40 solar masses. It appears that the lifetime of these
clumps is somewhat shorter than their free-fall times, although both values
agree within the errors. In addition, these are ideal objects for detailed
studies and follow-up observations.Comment: 15 pages plus appendix, in total 44 pages, accepted for publication
in Astronomy & Astrophysics, full tables will be added soo
Do Proto-Jovian Planets Drive Outflows?
We discuss the possibility that gaseous giant planets drive strong outflows
during early phases of their formation. We consider the range of parameters
appropriate for magneto-centrifugally driven stellar and disk outflow models
and find that if the proto-Jovian planet or accretion disk had a magnetic field
of >~ 10 Gauss and moderate mass inflow rates through the disk of less than
10^-7 M_J/yr that it is possible to drive an outflow. Estimates based both on
scaling from empirical laws observed in proto-stellar outflows and the
magneto-centrigugal disk and stellar+disk wind models suggest that winds with
mass outflow rates of 10^-8 M_J/yr and velocities of order ~ 20 km/s could be
driven from proto-Jovian planets. Prospects for detection and some implications
for the formation of the solar system are briefly discussed.Comment: AAS Latex, accepted for Ap
On the optical conductivity of Electron-Doped Cuprates I: Mott Physics
The doping and temperature dependent conductivity of electron-doped cuprates
is analysed. The variation of kinetic energy with doping is shown to imply that
the materials are approximately as strongly correlated as the hole-doped
materials. The optical spectrum is fit to a quasiparticle scattering model;
while the model fits the optical data well, gross inconsistencies with
photoemission data are found, implying the presence of a large, strongly doping
dependent Landau parameter
Efficiencies of Low-Mass Star and Star Cluster Formation
Using a quantitative model for bipolar outflows driven by hydromagnetic
protostellar winds, we calculate the efficiency of star formation assuming that
available gas is either converted into stars or ejected in outflows. We
estimate the efficiency of a single star formation event in a protostellar
core, finding 25%-70% for cores with various possible degrees of flattening.
The core mass function and the stellar initial mass function have similar
slopes, because the efficiency is not sensitive to its parameters. We then
consider the disruption of gas from a dense molecular clump in which a cluster
of young stars is being born. In both cases, we present analytical formulae for
the efficiencies that compare favorably against observations and, for clusters,
against numerical simulations. We predict efficiencies in the range 30%-50% for
the regions that form clusters of low-mass stars. In our model, star formation
and gas dispersal happen concurrently. We neglect the destructive effects of
massive stars: our results are therefore upper limits to the efficiency in
regions more massive than about 3000 Msun.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Ap
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